Ischemia-Induced Neurodegeneration in Glaucoma: Mechanistic Insights and Translational Opportunities for Psychoplastogen-Based Therapies
Pharmaceuticals February 14, 2026 Petra Dolenec, Goran Pelčić, Kristina Pilipović et al.
Glaucoma is an ischemic neurodegenerative disease driven not only by high eye pressure but also by vascular, metabolic, and inflammatory damage that progressively disconnects retinal neurons from the brain. Current treatments lower eye pressure but do not address this neurodegeneration or restore lost connections. Ischemia triggers excitotoxicity, oxidative stress, and chronic inflammation involving microglia and astrocytes, which suppress the brain's natural ability to repair itself. Psychoplastogens—compounds like ketamine, psilocybin, and DMT—rapidly enhance structural and functional neuroplasticity through BDNF-TrkB-mTOR signaling and also exert anti-inflammatory effects. This review integrates insights from cerebral ischemia to propose psychoplastogens as potential neurorestorative and anti-inflammatory agents for glaucoma, while outlining translational challenges.